


we never go out of style

by amazingjemma



Series: 1987 [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. RPF
Genre: F/M, Off-screen Relationship(s), Songfic, Sorry Not Sorry, mention of Chloe and Austin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-15
Updated: 2015-07-15
Packaged: 2018-04-09 11:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4346438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amazingjemma/pseuds/amazingjemma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes you need to take a shot before the most important talk of your life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	we never go out of style

**Author's Note:**

> Beta-ed by lovely Diana aka jemsfitz on tumblr. Also, she added some things, so she is also a so author (unfortunately, she doesn't have account here). Eh, what else? It's my first fic in english, yay! Inspired by "Style" by Taylor Swift. If you wanna cry about fitzsimmons or caestridge, I am jemmaginary on tumblr. I hope, you enjoy this.

_Midnight, you come and pick me up_

_Long drive, could end in burning flames or paradise_

_Fading off you, it's been a while since I have even heard from you_

 

 

**Elizabeth H. (00:57 am): pick me up? xx**

 

Iain groaned, cursing the person who woke him up. But seeing who that person was he couldn't help but sigh and get out of his warm and cozy bed. It's been a long time since they have spoken or have even seen each other since the break, but getting her message wasn't a surprise. Grabbing his car keys, he wandered to his car, cursing himself for his infinite kindness and affection to that woman.

 

He decided not to dial Elizabeth's number. He already knew that she was obviously drunk. Elizabeth called in only two cases: when she needed a ride to the set, or when she was drunk and needed company.

 

The sight of Elizabeth as he approached their favorite pub confirmed Iain wasn't wrong. They found this place when they were filming season one, and since then it was always "their" place.

 

She was there, in a black little tight skirt and a silk beige blouse, looking breathtakingly, beautiful. He didn't know how long he has been staring at her, but she noticed him eventually, and with a smile on her face she made her way towards him and into his car.

 

"Hey, did you get my message?"

 

"What do you think?", Iain teased. Elizabeth smiled and kissed his cheek, flooding him with a strange mix of alcoholic drinks and her floral perfume. "Where to, miss?"

 

"Just take me home."

 

Elizabeth's flat was farther away from Iain's and he decided to take this change to clear some things between them.

 

It seems like none of them wanted to start a conversation however. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and noticed she was on her phone typing something, probably sending a message to Chloe. Was she with her too? He wondered. If so, Chloe must have been with her boyfriend right now.

 

Iain tried to keep his eyes on the road, but Elizabeth looked too inviting and magnetic that he couldn’t concentrate fully on the dark streets ahead. Her now long wavy hair framed her face, the red of her lipstick made her lips more full and that was driving him crazy. He has seen Elizabeth in dresses, but now things are different, things… have changed. After a few nights of them spending it together skin to skin, and lips to lips their relationship has changed.

 

"You’re staring."

 

"What?"

 

"You are staring at me. Keep your eyes on the road."

 

"I am a good driver, thank you very much."

 

Elizabeth sighed and put her phone away, turning to him. "I woke you up, didn't I?"

 

"Why do you think so?"

 

"You’re angry."

 

Iain grinned and shook his head, trying not to look at his friend. "You know that if I am angry, I am not like… this."

 

"Something is bothering you. C’mon, tell me, you can trust me."

 

Iain gripped the steering wheel and took a deep breath. That's it, he thought, you wanted to talk about your relationship and this is the best moment. But the words refuse to come out. He just stared at her, drowning in her hazel eyes.

 

"Sooooo..."

 

Elizabeth was now leaning toward him, her hand almost touching his shoulder. She was close. So close that Iain took a deep breath and a few second later found himself looking at the road again.

 

"Look, I am sorry. For waking you up. If you were waiting for an apology..."

 

"I didn't want an apology. You have nothing to apologize for."

 

Elizabeth chuckled and shrugged, still feeling the alcohol in her system. Sometimes she didn't understand him. He could be funny and talkative a total open book, but the next day his he was closed, even for her. She never thought that they would be _that_ close. He was the only one Liz could trust in terms of personal things (except Chloe, of course) and seeing his coldness towards her now... it hurt.

 

"Where are Chloe and Austin?"

 

"They went to another pub."

 

"Why didn't you come with them?"

 

Biting her lip, Elizabeth glanced at Iain and shrugged once more. She didn't know where she found the courage to send him the message. Liquid luck perhaps. It was an automatic decision after that and Elizabeth didn't think about the consequences, or the repercussions that could have stayed after that last night. Plus, what’s been dotting in the back of her head for some time now that she needed to ask. So she decided to tell the truth.

 

"I wanted to see you." being straightforward she figured, would be easier to handle. "We haven't seen each other for almost a few months now and I..."

 

She took a deep breath and then remembered why she wanted to see him.

 

"I've seen pictures. Of you. And some other girl", she absentmindedly pouted and shoot a quick glance in his direction before returning her vision towards the dark road ahead. The speed of his car was higher than normal and that confirmed her earlier suspicion that he was indeed angry. Was it because she woke him up and begrudgingly came to pick her up or something else? One thing was for sure, by the looks of it he just wanted to take her home as soon as possible.

 

Iain was as cool as a cucumber, though. He completely forgot about his shitty and unsuccessful date with the girl in question. Memories of that date flooded his head making him realized why he called the girl on a date in the first place: she reminded him of Elizabeth. He missed his co-star so much, that he made a mistake and asked the wrong person on a date.

 

Not even looking at Liz, he noticed a hint of jealousy in her tone. It’s only been a couple of years, but he knew her too well. Like the back of his hand.

 

"What you've seen is true." Iain didn't fancy a lie, plus he didn't want to ruin their already spoiled relationship with them. "But I can't stop thinking about you", he blurted out without thinking.

 

The atmosphere in the car was tense now. Elizabeth stared at him with disbelief, she couldn’t help the budding hope feeling rising in her chest that probably reached her eyes so she darted them towards her hands. She could sense that sobriety washing over her and cramped into the seat, smiling slightly

 

"I've been there, too." She whispered.

 

The rest of the ride was silent between them after. Both of them thinking about what they are going to do with each other and both of them not having a clue at how to approach. To fill the silence Iain turned on the stereo, glancing at a pack of cigarettes he itched for. He started smoking again not so long ago, approximately in the middle of filming season two. Since then he couldn't help but smoked about 3 cigarettes in a day, he knew why. At that moment he felt Elizabeth, he glanced at her and she was staring at him in an odd way. Or at least that’s what he told himself because he recognized that look in her eyes and it didn’t want to admit it to himself - _was it really affection? Hope?_

 

He was relieved, when they finally reached her flat. The sight of her apartment brought flashes of the last time he was here, the things that happened here… those things he tried so hard to forget.

 

Iain left the keys in the ignition because he didn’t plan on staying and made sure she saw that, he proceeded to get out of the car and help her out of it, as a true gentleman, for a second he thought she hesitated when she got out. As their hands brushed, a shiver encased them and after avoiding each other’s glances for the longest during the ride their eyes locked for what seemed like an eternity only breaking once Elizabeth shivered due to the cool night air. She wrapped her arms around herself as best she could until Iain took off his coat and placed it around her shoulder. She looked up at him and smiled, breathing in that familiar scent of cigarette smoke, honey lemon tea and his cologne.

 

Screw it, she thought. "Are you coming with me?"

 

"Do you want me to?"

 

He took her silence as a no and preceded to get the keys out of his car and locking it behind him, he will belittle himself for this later but he could never find the strength to ever say no to her. Liz grinned and took his hand, dragging him with her. He sighed and squeezed her hand, smiling slightly. He told himself that he only wanted to make sure that Elizabeth would be safe and sound in bed and that she wouldn’t continue drinking for the night, not even "just a little before bed". He knew the route to her flat perfectly well, but allowed Elizabeth to lead him mostly because the rational part of him would have probably turned around.

 

The closer they got to her door, the more vivid the details of some of those nights spent here kept popping inside his thought process and suddenly he wondered if they would do it again. After struggling to open the door and her “I got this, I can do this” they were finally inside. Iain hesitated under the door arch for a while as she walked in, suddenly very silent after the conversation she technically had with herself since he wasn’t really paying attention and the reason why made him step inside. She took off her heels and he stood there cautiously, not knowing what to do, she turned towards him at that moment looking very disgruntled and with a “we-need-to-talk” look. _Crap_ , he should have stayed in the car.

 

"I can't believe you went on a date without telling me!"

 

Iain curved an eyebrow, and stared at her in disbelief, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

 

"Excuse you? Is there something wrong with me _not_ telling you about a date?"

 

Elizabeth groaned, during the whole walk here she tried very hard to distract herself from thinking about that picture, and the jealousy that was bubbling up in her chest every time she remembered it that she talked about whatever crossed her path only to have him ignore her completely and made her wonder if he was still thinking about her. She took his coat off her shoulders, throwing it on the sofa and crossed her arms avoiding his glance.

 

"No.” Yes. “Well…” No lies remember, she told herself sighing. “I mean, you... you could have introduce her to me, at least.” That wasn’t technically a lie, he could have and she probably would have made her assessment of the girl, like that she was horrible and mean and just wasn’t for him which made Elizabeth feel bad because the girl was probably a saint and she was just a jealous english.

 

Iain snorted. He knew it was jealousy but he couldn’t help feel a little bit offended. She would go on many dates and he never heard of them, well he heard of them _after_ the dates happened. He wasn't her property and a few drunk (and maybe not) one night stands don't make them a couple. And she never mentioned that she wanted more, they have never talked about it, it just keeps happening. Once more they fell into a silence that was starting to annoy Iain, this never use to happen when they were just friends, just friends who’s history was nothing but a TV show character. Honestly, this was now or never.

 

“I’m not your property.” After all the words he tried to connect, those were not the ones he wanted to say.

 

At that moment, Elizabeth turned around and stared at him agape it was almost to make sure he wasn’t the one that actually told her that but they were the only ones in the room.

 

“I never said you were my property… but you are my friend-?” Elizabeth’s voice was shaky now, and she tired her best not to burst into tears as she spoke.

 

“Are we still?” There was a lot of implications that came with that question and he wondered if she understood them. What they have been doing before break pretty much change their dynamic and made them question everything, are they friends? Could they be more? Is there a slight possibility that the other would want to venture into a more stable relationship? Do they just want the friends with benefits sort-of-relationship because iain didn’t know if he could do that already with the budding feeling in his chest that could probably leave him emotionally destroyed? Or do they risk actually destroying their friendship and should just end it while it was a head?

 

Iain didn’t want to think about it, even though he has been wondering ever since their last encounter and really wanted to know where they stood, facing her became all too real. He surrender. Walking over to where she was and engulfed her in a hug, she retaliated by wrapping her arms around his stomach and laying her head on his chest. He didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to make her cry, she was half-dazed and it was the middle of the night and he would keep everything lightweight between their friendship he decided, because if he couldn’t have Elizabeth like those nights, he would have her as a friend the world is so much better with her in it.

 

Almost on cue he heard her whisper "What will we do?" It was so silent he could have missed it if he hadn’t approached her earlier. "I don't wanna lose you."

 

"You won't."

 

This time the silence was breathable, at least now they were in the same page – sort of – and they could fix this later, maybe. She took her head of his chest and stared up at him, those brown eyes roaming his features to find something that confirmed she wasn’t going to lose him. With a kiss to her forehead he heaved "I missed you so much." He smiled one she placed her head back on his chest, confirmation and suddenly he felt 20 pounds lighter.

 

“We need to talk about this, Iain” A knot formed on his chest when she spoke again

 

"I know” He tried his best to make sure his voice didn’t sound like it was going to crack but it failed, he quickly added “But we'll talk later, okay? When you are sober."

 

Elizabeth rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything after that, instead unwrapping herself from him and walking towards her bedroom, a ghost of a smile on her lips. Elizabeth was glad they reached some understanding, even though she was still a bit angry about his date but he’s right, Iain’s not her property or her boyfriend… now, maybe, but they promised each other not to keep secrets. Utter trust was their turn on.

 

While Elizabeth was in her bedroom, Iain decided to raid her kitchen for a midnight snack before he left. He wasn’t going to risk an argument or one of those encounters again until they actually talked. What he ended up finding, didn't surprise him. She always kept his favorite scotch there, but there were two bottles of it and a thought crossed his mind that she probably planned this.

 

"You want some?"

 

Iain turned around and smirked. She was wearing her favorite polka-dotted pajamas and had removed her makeup, she always looked much more beautiful without make up to him. In fact, the day that he realized he was in love with her - she wasn't wearing cosmetics and looked even more beautiful without it.

 

"No, I am driving, remember? And you had enough, if you drink this you might need a babysitter for the night”

 

"Should I be offended?" Elizabeth smiled and crossed her arms on her chest. "And nonsense, I won't let you drive in such late an hour."

 

"Don't worry, I'll be safe. You. Now. Bed. Call me in the morning, okay?"

 

Oh, shit. He was about to leave and that wasn't in Elizabeth's plans, she didn’t want him to leave. She still was a little bit tipsy true, but she called him on _purpose_ and probably drank too much in anticipation of this moment that it got ruined either way. She didn’t want him to leave without thoroughly talking about it.

 

"Wait!" She grabbed his hand just before he made it towards the door and smiled innocently. "Please, stay. We'll talk about it in the morning. Feel free to sleep anywhere you want to if you need to, just... don't go."

 

Again, Iain felt unstoppable affection to this woman. She is such a manipulator, he thought teasingly. She knew what she did to him and played it wonderfully.

 

"Okay", he agreed, "We'll talk in the morning. But now you go to bed and I'll be on the couch."

 

"Yes. Yes, good." Liz smiled again and kissed his cheek lingering just a bit, while staring at his lips. "Thank you."

 

"Bed. Now. Or I'll carry you." Don’t get distracted iain, he kept repeating to himself, in the morning, in the morning, in the morning we’ll talk, in the morning we’ll be fine.

 

"That's a wonderful idea." She winked and turned away from him, disappearing into her bedroom doors, leaving Iain with a smirk on his lips.

 

He grabbed a blanket from her closet and made his way towards the most uncomfortable couch he ever slept in, but it was better this way for them until they get things figured out. They’ll be fine in the morning. And whatever happened in the morning he’ll be fine with it, as long as she was still in his life. Elizabeth is a lot of things, a great friend, a wonderful actress and so beautiful. He didn’t know when he fell in love with her or for the most part what made him fall in love with her but there was only one thing he knew - she was the most fantastic woman he has ever met, and the world was better with her.

 

_And when we go crashing down, we come back every time._

_Cause we never go out of style_

_We never go out of style._

 


End file.
